Giuseppe Occhipinti

The INGV Urban Seismic Observatory report covers the seismic swarm that began on 15 May 2025 at 10:06 UTC, comprising 49 events, with the main Md 4.4 ± 0.3 (Mw 4.1) shock at 10:07 UTC, offshore Pozzuoli (40.8245°N, 14.1117°E), 2.63 km depth . Aftershocks of Md 3.5 and Md 3.3 followed. The enhanced MEMS-based accelerometric network recorded peak gro...

Artistic masterpieces are mostly collected in museums located in the center of urban areas, which are prone to heavy traffic. Traffic-induced vibrations can represent a significant hazard for museum objects, due to the repeated nature of the excitation and the brittle, pre-damaged condition of the artifacts. This is the case of the Sarcophagus of t...

This study presents the results of an experimental investigation conducted on a 2:3 scale model of a two-story stone masonry building. We tested the model on the UniKORE L.E.D.A. lab shake table, simulating the Mw 6.3 earthquake ground motion that struck L’Aquila, Italy, on 6 April 2009, with progressively increasing peak acceleration levels. We in...

This study presents the results of an experimental investigation conducted on a 2:3 scale model of a two-storey stone masonry building. We tested the model on the UniKORE L.E.D.A. lab shake table, simulating the Mw 6.3 earthquake ground motion that struck L’Aquila, Italy, on April 06, 2009, with progressively increasing peak acceleration levels. We...

The façade and internal walls of unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings often present an irregular opening layout, due to architectural reasons or modifications to the structure, which make the expected seismic damage pattern less predictable a priori. Therefore, the discretization of the walls in structural components is not standardized, conversely...

Among the buildings with strategic role for civil protection purposes part of them were built before the introduction of modern seismic codes. Aiming to guarantee their operability in case of seismic events, they have to be assessed and, hopefully, seismically upgraded. This aspect arises the necessity of reliable low computational demanding numeri...

In this paper the seismic response of linear behaving structures resting on compliant soil is addressed through the application of the Preisach formalism to capture the soil nonlinearities. The novel application of the Preisach model of hysteresis for nonlinear soil-structure interaction problems is explored through the study of the seismic respons...

The paper presents the comparison of the results obtained on a masonry building by nonlinear static analysis using different software operating in the field of continuum and discrete-macroelement modeling. The structure is inspired by an actual building, the "P. Capuzi" school in Visso (Macerata, Italy), seriously damaged following the seismic even...

This paper reports the results of different finite and discrete element simulations on a well-known benchmark of an unreinforced plane masonry structure. Namely, the case study concerns a five floor structural wall, located at the interior of a masonry building, situated in “via Martoglio” in the city of Catania (Italy). The numerical simulations a...

This paper adopts the use of steel frames around existing openings as a low-impact seismic retrofitting strategy for unreinforced masonry structures (URM). Although elastic steel frames have been commonly adopted for strengthening masonry walls in case of the realization of new openings, the use of elasto-plastic frames has been proposed only recen...

This paper presents a benchmark exercise for the seismic assessment of unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings as a follow-up of a blind prediction test organized in the context of the European Conference of Earthquake Engineering Series. The blind prediction exercise was aimed at better defining the open issues in current procedures for modeling and...

The paper presents the comparison of the results obtained on a masonry building by nonlinear static analysis using different software operating in the field of continuum and discrete-macroelement modeling. The structure is inspired by an actual building, the "P. Capuzi" school in Visso (Macerata, Italy), seriously damaged following the seismic even...

Dynamic analyses and seismic assessments of multi-storey buildings at the urban level require large-scale simulations and computational procedures based on simplified but accurate numerical models. For this aim, the present paper proposes an equivalent non-uniform beam-like model, suitable for the dynamic analysis of buildings with an asymmetric pl...

The analysis of multi-storey frames by means of simplified models, introduced in the last century, is still a subject of current interest since it allows drastically containing the required computational burden. Aiming at simulating the static and dynamic behaviour of entire buildings, beam-like models, equivalent to framed structures, have been fo...

Total seismic hazard assessment (i.e. the base hazard modified by local site conditions) plays a key role in seismic risk prevention and mitigation. This is an important topic due to the impact of a reliable hazard as- sessment on the resilience of local communities in the case of an earthquake. This paper presents a study that evaluates the total...

Dynamic analyses and seismic assessments of multi-storey buildings at urban level require large-scale simulations and computational procedures based on simplified but accurate numerical models. At this aim the present paper propos-es an equivalent non-uniform beam-like model, suitable for the dynamic analysis of buildings with asymmetric plan and n...

The analysis of multi-storey frames by means of simplified models, introduced in the last century, is still a subject of current interest since it allows drastically containing the required computational burden. Aiming at simulating the static and dynamic behaviour of entire buildings, beam-like models, equivalent to framed structures, have been fo...

The analysis of multi-storey frames by means of equivalent models, introduced in the last century, is a still extremely current subject as it allows drastically containing the computational burden. Aiming at simulating the static and dynamic behaviour of entire buildings, some recent studies have been devoted to formulate beam-like models based on...

Cable-stayed bridges are one of the most aesthetically appealing bridge typology that usually fits in the surrounding terrain. These bridges also show an efficient structural system to overcome from moderate to long crossings. The symbiosis between architecture and engineering has lead the researchers to propose the Licata railway cable-stayed brid...

conference Masonry multi-span arch bridges are historical structures still playing a key role in many transportation networks of numerous countries. Most of these bridges are several decades old and have been subjected to continuous dynamic loadings, due to the vehicular traffic, and in many cases their maintenance required structural modifications...

Masonry multi-span arch bridges represent cultural heritage structures that still play a strategic role in many railway networks of numerous countries and particularly in Europe. Most of these bridges appear in good state although they are several decades old and have been subjected to continuous dynamic loadings during their life. In order to asse...

This paper presents the comparison of the results of nonlinear static analyses performed on a simple masonry building with different computer programs that work within the Equivalent Frame Modelling approach. The activity described in this paper is part of a wider research program carried out within the ReLUIS 2014-2018 project (founded by the Ital...

This paper presents the comparison of the results of nonlinear static analyses performed on a simple masonry building with different computer programs that work within the Equivalent Frame Modelling approach. The activity described in this paper is part of a wider research program carried out within the ReLUIS 2014-2018 project (founded by the Ital...

A reliable numerical model capable of simulating the nonlinear behaviour of historical masonry structures is fundamental for their structural assessment and the identification of possible retrofitting strategies. Within the framework of numerical simulations, models based on the Finite Element (FE) method provide a good prediction of the seismic pe...

This paper presents a high fidelity nonlinear modelling strategy for accurate response predictions of reinforced concrete (RC) framed buildings subjected to earthquakes. The proposed numerical approach is employed to investigate the seismic performance of a 10-storey building, which is representative of many existing RC structures designed with no...

La valutazione della sicurezza strutturale dei ponti esistenti rappresenta un aspetto cruciale nella corretta gestione e manutenzione dell’infrastruttura ferroviaria. Al fine di ottenere una valutazione della sicurezza il più possibile omogenea su tutta l’infrastruttura nazionale da cui stabilire le priorità degli interventi di miglioramento static...

This thesis is focused on the seismic vulnerability assessment of existing multi-storey reinforced concrete buildings that were not designed to withstand earthquakes and on the identification of possible retrofitting strategies adoptable for their structural rehabilitation. A typical ten-storey building has been identified as representative cases...

This paper presents a high fidelity numerical model developed to investigate the seismic performance of an original and retrofitted 10-storey reinforced concrete (RC) framed building. The analysed structure represents a typical existing building in Catania, Italy, which was designed according to old standards to resist gravity and wind loading but...

The evaluation of the nonlinear dynamic response of masonry monumental structures still represents a complex issue whose rigorous approach requires ad hoc computational strategies, difficult to apply to large structures hence unsuitable for practical applications. However, for the structural assessment of existing monumental structures engineers ne...

The monumental complex of San Placido Calonerò, in the surroundings of Messina, on the eastern coast of Sicily, Italy, which was originally a Castle for the Vinciguerra family, became the location of the Benedictine Abbey of San Placido Calonerò in the XIV century. The religious edifice is centered upon two cloisters which characterise the Renaissa...